Washington forward Eric Fehr (upper body), who missed the latter half of the Islanders series following a big hit from Kyle Okposo, has resumed skating and will travel with the Caps in advance of tomorrow’s Round 2 opener against the Rangers, per the Washington Post.

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Trotz said this injury was unrelated to the other shoulder issues Fehr had experienced in the past, including one nagging problem that sidelined him for the final three games of the regular season.

Since Fehr did not practice before the team traveled to New York, he will almost certainly be unavailable for Game 1. Asked whether Fehr was a possibility for Game 2, Trotz replied, “Don’t know. Not going to answer that one.”

Fehr missed the final four games of the opening series and his absence was noticeable; the 29-year-old averaged over 15 minutes per night through the first three contests and, prior to, was a steady contributor for the Caps this year, scoring 19 goals and 33 points in 75 games while emerging as a solid third-line checking center.

The Isles, already upset over losing Visnovsky, were further incensed when audio of Caps forward Brooks Laich’s radio appearance on a Washington station surfaced on social media.

The NHL’s Player Safety department was informed of Laich’s comments, though such things usually warrant only a talking-to, not a fine or suspension. Wilson did not hear from player safety regarding the hit, so he will be in the lineup for Game 5.

In the interview, Laich said “What [the hit] did was Visnovsky got put out of the game and that puts them down to five ‘D’ in the second period.” Laich then added, “it’s a quote-unquote good penalty to take.”

Game 5 of the series goes tonight at Verizon. Needless to say, it’s going to be heated.

Visnovsky left the game following the blast and didn’t return, finishing with just 7:50 TOI. Isles head coach Jack Capuano, who originally suggested Wilson left his feet to deliver the blow, had no comment on the hit today and no status update for Visnovsky, who didn’t practice and isn’t expected to play Game 5 on Thursday.

“I know Latts is fired up to get in tonight, hopefully, and it’ll be good to get back together and give them some of their own medicine,” Wilson said, referring to the Islanders’ fourth line of Matt Martin [22 hits], Clutterbuck [17 hits] and Casey Cizikas [7 hits].